Method for Making Wellbore that Maintains a Minimum Drift

ABSTRACT

A well having a minimum drift between or among strings is provided using strings that have a recessed segment and a hanging segment. The length of the recessed segment in the lower end of the upper string is substantially longer than the hanging segment of the lower string that is passed through it. The hanging segments define the drift dimension. In the event the lower string gets stuck in the open hole before it is fully advanced, the hanging segment of the lower string may still be in the recess of the upper string so that the drift dimension can be preserved. Preferably the recess segment is the substantial length of the tubular string apart from its hanging segment near its top end. One or more laterals can be extended through the recessed segments while retaining the drift dimension.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/087,269, filed on Aug. 8, 2008.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention relates to techniques for tubular expansionand sealing in open hole with attachment techniques to an existingtubular.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various techniques have been developed to expand liners and attach themto existing casing already in the wellbore. Some of these techniquesinvolve running a liner with a wide bell at the bottom where theexpansion equipment is located and then driving the swage up the linerand out the top and along the way setting external seals to thesurrounding casing as the swage makes an exit. One such process is shownin U.S. Pat. No. 6,470,966. The extensive list of prior art included inthat patent is representative of the state of the art in downholetubular expansion techniques that include attachment to an existingtubular. Other patents show the use of swages that include a series ofretractable rollers that can be radially extended downhole to initiate atubular expansion such as of a casing patch as for example isillustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,930. Some devices swage in a top tobottom direction as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,395.

What is needed and addressed by the present invention are refinements tothe previous techniques that improve performance, mitigate risk and savetime to reduce the cost to the operator. Techniques involving expansionin stages coupled with cementing in between are envisioned. Anadjustable swage to expand on location removes the need for oversizedbells to house the expansion equipment as done in some techniques.Techniques using cement or just sealing externally in open hole areenvisioned. Composite materials facilitate subsequent drill out whileimproved shoe configuration improves circulation when tripping into thehole. The shoe and/or liner can be rotationally locked to work thestring for delivery downhole. These and other advantages will becomemore apparent to one skilled in the art from a review of the descriptionof the preferred embodiments and the associated drawings, whilerecognizing that the full scope of the invention is given by the claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An expansion and cementing assembly is run into the well as theexpandable liner is made up. A work string is tagged into the expansionassembly and run to depth. Pressure drives the swage to initially expandand move uphole with the attached work string until the liner isexpanded above the location of the subsequent cement placement. Theassembly is then lowered to engage the guide/float shoe to perform thecementing step. The swage assembly is then released from the guide/floatshoe and the balance of the expansion is performed without furtherexpansion against the recently placed cement. The expansion assembly canstart at the guide/float shoe or higher, in which case expansion canoccur initially in a downhole direction and later be completed in anuphole direction. Variations without cementing are also contemplated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of a wellbore that has been cased with an open holesegment below;

FIG. 2 is the view of FIG. 1 showing a liner with a float shoe insertedinto the open hole segment through the casing;

FIG. 3 is the view of FIG. 2 with the swage assembly being run in;

FIG. 4 is the view of FIG. 3 with the circulation established throughthe swage assembly and the float shoe as the liner is run in;

FIG. 5 is the view of FIG. 4 with the swage assembly expanded but notyet driven;

FIG. 6 is the view of FIG. 5 with the swage assembly released from thesupporting string and being driven down to the float shoe;

FIG. 7 is the view of FIG. 6 with the circulation re-established afterthe swage assembly engages the float shoe;

FIG. 8 is the view of FIG. 7 with the support string releasing the linerand being advanced further into the liner using additional stands addedabove;

FIG. 9 is the view of FIG. 8 with the swage assembly again latched tothe supporting string and cement pumped through the float shoe to fillthe annulus around the already expanded liner;

FIG. 10 is the view of FIG. 9 with the swage assembly now driven up tocomplete the expansion of the liner top into the casing;

FIG. 11 is the view of FIG. 10 with the swage assembly out of the fullyexpanded liner and the liner hanger to the surrounding casing engaged;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 1 to illustrate an alternative method;

FIG. 13 is the view of FIG. 12 with the liner in the well showing aswage assembly connected to the float shoe;

FIG. 14 is the view of FIG. 13 with the work string run in to engage theswage assembly;

FIG. 15 is the view of FIG. 14 with the circulation established as theliner is run into the open hole;

FIG. 16 is the view of FIG. 15 with the swage assembly extended in theliner;

FIG. 17 is the view of FIG. 16 with the swage assembly pressure releasedfrom the float shoe and ready to move uphole;

FIG. 18 is the view of FIG. 17 with the swage assembly driven uphole;

FIG. 19 is the view of FIG. 18 with the swage assembly again engaged tothe float show after initial expansion;

FIG. 20 is the view of FIG. 19 with the annulus around the expandedportion of the liner being cemented;

FIG. 21 is the view of FIG. 20 with the swage assembly driven up tocomplete the expansion above the cemented zone and engage the hanger onthe liner to the casing;

FIG. 22 is the view of FIG. 21 with the swage assembly removed from theliner;

FIG. 23 is another view of FIG. 1 for an alternative embodiment withoutcementing the liner;

FIG. 24 is the view of FIG. 23 with the liner in the hole and suspendedfrom the surface with an open hole packer outside the liner;

FIG. 25 is the view of FIG. 24 with the string latched into the swageassembly that is supported at the float shoe;

FIG. 26 is the view of FIG. 25 with the circulation established forrunning in the liner;

FIG. 27 is the view of FIG. 26 with the swage assembly expanded;

FIG. 28 is the view of FIG. 27 with the swage assembly released to moveuphole from the float shoe;

FIG. 29 is the view of FIG. 28 with the liner expanded and the open holepacker set;

FIG. 30 is the view of FIG. 29 with the swage expanding the hanger onthe liner into contact with the casing; and

FIG. 31 is the view of FIG. 30 with the swage assembly out of the linerand the float shoe ready to be drilled out or retrieved to the surface.

FIG. 32 shows an open hole that can be under reamed with respect to thecased hole above;

FIG. 33 shows a liner inserted and expanded to hang off the casing abovewith options to seal it with cement or external packers or both orneither;

FIG. 34 shows an under reamed open hole below the already expanded andhung off liner;

FIG. 35 shows a production string through the expanded liner and hungoff the casing where the production string can be cemented or not asneeded;

FIG. 36 shows a casing patch application using expansion;

FIG. 37 shows an open hole patch using expansion;

FIG. 38 shows an open hole patch in an under reamed hole;

FIG. 39 shows an under reamed open hole below a cased hole;

FIG. 40 is the view of FIG. 39 with a liner inserted and expanded tocreate a lower bell in the under reamed portion of the well;

FIG. 41 is the view of FIG. 40 with the shoe drilled out of the bottomof the expanded liner and further showing a variety of sizes of new holeto be drilled deeper;

FIG. 42 is the view of FIG. 41 with a production string run in and hungoff the casing and optionally cemented;

FIG. 43 is the view of FIG. 41 with a second liner hung off from thebell of the liner above and optionally externally sealed with cementor/and one or more packers pr neither;

FIG. 44 is the view of FIG. 43 with the lower liner expanded in twodimensions to create a lower bell;

FIG. 45 is the view of FIG. 44 with the length of the liner below theliner lap expanded to allow for high setting a subsequent liner in theevent of a hole collapse;

FIG. 46 shows a sequence of liners allowing the sidetrack exit whilemaintaining bore size;

FIG. 47 shows a cased hole with a bell on the lower end of the casingthat can be there for run in or created with expansion of a subsequentliner and an under reamed open hole below;

FIG. 48 is the view of FIG. 45 with a liner run in and hung off in thecasing bell and optionally sealed with cement or/and one or moreexternal packers or neither;

FIG. 49 shows a casing with a lower bell and an upper liner hung fromthe bell with an open hole below the size of the expanded liner or underreamed; and

FIG. 50 is the view of FIG. 47 with a production liner inserted throughthe expanded liner above it and the production liner hung from above thebell in the casing;

FIG. 51 shows a cased hole with a bell on the lower end of the casingthat can be there for run in or created with expansion of a subsequentliner and an under reamed open hole below.

FIG. 52 is the view of FIG. 51 with a liner run in and hung off in thecasing bell with a second casing bell positioned at the bottom that canbe created upon expansion of the liner or created with expansion of asubsequent liner and is optionally sealed with cement and/or one or moreexternal packers or neither.

FIG. 53 is the view of FIG. 52 with the shoe drilled out and the openhole below under reamed to accommodate a subsequent liner.

FIG. 54 is the view of FIG. 53 with an additional liner shown run in andhung off as the one above it and as subsequent liners can also beinstalled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows casing 10 in a wellbore 12 that extends from the surface14. The open hole portion 16 has a pilot hole 18 at the lower end. A rig19 is illustrated schematically at the surface 14. In FIG. 2 a liner 20is supported from the rig 19 and extends into the open hole 16. Liner 20has a hanger/packer 22 on the outside that will eventually support theliner 20 and seal it to the casing 10. A sealed latch assembly 24 islocated inside the float shoe 26. Float shoe 26 has a spring loaded oneway valve 28 as well as a bottom exit 30 as well as side exits 32. Theside exits promote well conditioning during circulation when running inthe liner 20. The float shoe 26 allows flow in the liner 20 to exit butprevents reverse flow such as cement later pumped through the liner 20and into the surrounding annulus 34. The float shoe 26 can also be madeof a soft composite material or other similar materials that promoterapid drill out after the cementing is completed.

FIG. 3 shows the insertion of an assembly 36 that comprises from thebottom up a latch component 38 designed to seal and latch to component24 when brought into contact with it. Further uphole is a pistonassembly 40 designed to selectively change the size of the adjustableswage 42 such as is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,146, for example.Further up is an uphole oriented swab cup 44 and a disconnect 46. Asection of pipe 50 spaces the lower swab cup 44 from an oppositelyoriented upper swab cup 48. Further up is a running tool 52 showngripping the interior of the liner 20 and finally an annular debrisbarrier 54 is designed to keep debris from getting into the liner 20 asit is circulated when being run into the well 12.

FIG. 4 shows a run in string 56 starting to be assembled above thedebris barrier 54 and the liner 20 now supported through the string 56off of rig 19 as it is delivered deeper into the wellbore withcirculation through the assembly 36 represented by arrow 58 and returnflow represented by arrow 60. In this view it is easy to see thefunction of the debris barrier 54. The valve 28 responds to deliveredpressure from the surface 14 to open and let the flow out through thelateral shoe passages 32 to allow for a secondary flow path in case thebottom is plugged when resting on bottom.

In FIG. 5 a plug or dart or some other obstructing device 62 is droppedor pumped until landed to seal off passage 64. Then with passage 64closed at its lower end and pressurized the pressure 66 acts on pistonassembly 40 as indicated by arrows 66. The swage assembly 42 grows inradial dimension to create an initial bump out 68 in the liner 20.

In FIG. 6 the pressure in passage 64 has been further increased to causea separation between components 46 so that the applied pressure inpassage 64 now can enter space 70 as indicated by arrows 72. Thatpressure acts on lower swab cup 44 that looks uphole while the liner 20which is gripped by running tool 52 and is supported off of string 56from rig 19 remains immobile despite uphole pressure on upper swab cup48 which is downhole oriented. Arrows 66 indicate that pressure on thepiston assembly 40 continues to keep the swage assembly 42 at anenlarged dimension as it travels toward the float shoe 26 untilcomponents 38 and 24 re-latch and seal as shown in FIG. 7.

In FIG. 7 components 38 and 24 have latched and a pressure buildup haspopped a disc internal to dart 62 so that circulation can be establishedwith the bulk of the liner 20 below the casing 10 already expanded.Arrows 72 and 74 represent circulation flow through passages 32 and 36in the float shoe 26.

FIG. 8 shows that circulation has stopped and the float shoe 28 isresting on bottom in the pilot hole 18. The string 56 is being added toat the surface 14 to again bring together the connection 46 so thatcementing around the already expanded portion of the liner 20 can takeplace.

In FIG. 9 the connection 46 is brought together in a sealingrelationship and cement 76 is delivered into annulus 34 to the top 77 ofthe expanded portion of liner 20. The cement 76 goes down passage 64 andthrough the one way valve 28 in the float shoe 26 to the annulus 34. Awiper plug or dart 78 wipes passage 64 clear of the cement 76.Optionally some cement 76 can be pumped above plug 78 to ease subsequentdrill out as shown in FIG. 10.

In FIG. 10 with wiper plug 78 remaining landed a buildup of pressure inpassage 64 builds an uphole pressure on sealed latch 24 which has adownhole oriented swab cup 80 whose presence results in an uphole forcerepresented by arrow 82 to drive the assembly 36 uphole to finish theexpansion of the liner 20 into a sealed relationship with the casing 10.The swage assembly 42 remains at maximum dimension because the pistonassembly 40 is pressurized at this time as the movement uphole of the 36continues.

FIG, 11 shows the expansion of the liner 20 to be complete and thehanger/packer 24 set to the casing 10 as a result of the conclusion ofthe expansion. It should be noted that the uphole oriented expansion ofFIG. 10 does not occur against cement 76 already in annulus 34. Rather,expansion continues once the extended swage assembly 42 reaches thelocation 77 which marked the end of expansion. The assembly 36 can nowcome all the way out of the liner 20. The shoe 26 can now be drilled outand more hole can be drilled.

FIG. 12 begins another embodiment for a well with casing 100 and an openhole portion 102 terminating in a pilot hole 104. In FIG. 13 a linerstring 106 is supported from a rig 108. At the bottom of the liner 106is a float shoe 110 with a one way valve 112 and lateral exits 114. Thefloat shoe 110 has a seat 116 for landing a plug as will be laterdescribed. A latch assembly 118 releasably holds the swage assembly 120and the piston assembly 122 that controls the dimension of the swageassembly 120 to the float shoe 110. Above the piston assembly 122 is oneportion 124 of a latch assembly. Outside the liner 106 is ahanger/packer 126.

FIG. 14 shows a string 128 with another portion 130 of a connection thatwill seal and connect to portion 124. Alternatively, the running string128 could deliver the piston assembly 122 and the swage assembly 120with a latch below that engages the float shoe 110. This engagement canbe with a type HRD running tool sold by Baker Oil Tools or anequivalent.

FIG. 15 shows the liner 106 lowered to the pilot hole 104 andcirculation through string 128 out ports 112 and 114 and up through theannulus 133 as represented by arrows 132 and 134 as such lowering istaking place. A debris barrier 136 is at the top of liner 106 for thereason explained before. String 128 supports the liner 106 near itslower end using latch assembly 118.

FIG. 16 shows that circulation has stopped and a plug 138 has beenlanded on seat 116 to allow pressure built up in string 128 to reach thepiston assembly 122 so that its movement causes the swage assembly 120move out to a larger dimension putting a bump out 142 in liner 106.Further pressure buildup as shown in FIG. 17 releases the latchconnection 118 to the float shoe 110.

FIG. 18 shows pressure buildup against the plug 138 increasing thevolume of chamber 144 as the swage assembly 120 continues to hold itsenlarged dimension by virtue of continuous pressure on the pistonassembly 122 schematically represented by arrow 140. The upholeexpansion is allowed to continue to a point below the bottom of thecasing 100 but leaves the liner 106 expanded over substantially itsentire length.

FIG. 19 shows the string 128 lowered so that latch 118 is back insidefloat shoe 110 and secured and a follow on pressure buildup blows apassage through the plug 138 so that the assembly is ready for cementingas shown in FIG. 20. In FIG. 20 cement 145 is delivered through passages112 and 114 at a pressure that keeps the piston assembly 122 portsclosed. After cement 145 is delivered to annulus 133 up to location 146on the liner 106 representing where expansion stopped, a wiper plug 148is landed on the now opened plug 138. Optionally some cement 145 can bepumped above plug 148 to ease subsequent drill out as shown in FIG. 20.

Once again pressure is built up from the FIG. 20 position to cause latch118 to release and to allow the swage assembly 120 held extended bypiston assembly 122 that is now under pressure to be driven up throughthe already expanded portion to location 146 and then further up to thetop of the liner 106. The swage assembly 120 can optionally have abackup seal like a swab cup 150 shown in FIG. 20 so that it can keep aseal while driven up to the location 146 where expansion will continueuntil the hanger/packer 126 is against the casing 100, as shown in FIG.21, and for continued movement until the entire liner 106 is expandedand all the expansion equipment is removed as shown in FIG. 22. At thatpoint the float shoe 110 can be milled out.

FIG. 23 starts an embodiment that tracks the previous embodiment onlywithout cementing and instead using an open hole packer to seal theannulus around the expanded liner. As before a casing 200 is above anopen hole 202 that is drilled or 204 if it is under-reamed. A rig 206 isat the surface 208. As shown in FIG. 24, the liner string 210 has ahanger/packer 212 for eventual support and sealing contact with thecasing 200 and one or more external open hole packers 214 such as forexample FORMpac® or REPacker® sold by Baker Oil Tools. At the lower endof the liner 210 is a float shoe 216 with a one way valve 218 and sideoutlets 220 and a lower port 220A. A latch assembly 222 is latched intothe float shoe 216 for ultimate support of the liner 210 as will beexplained below. Going uphole there is an adjustable swage assembly 224with a piston operating assembly 226 and a connector profile 228. FIG.25 illustrates a running string 230 with a connector 232 at its lowerend adapted to contact connector profile 228 for a supporting and sealedconnection to allow running in the liner 210 to the pilot hole 234 asshown in FIG. 26. As stated before for an alternative, the assembly thatis above the float shoe 216 can be run into the liner 210 after theliner is assembled in the wellbore 202 or 204. In FIG. 26, string 230 isused to lower liner 210 while circulation represented by arrows 236 and238 flowing through lateral outlets 220 and lower port 220A facilitatethe advancement of the liner 210. A debris barrier 240 prevents debrisfrom entering the liner 210 during circulation as it is advanced intothe wellbore.

In FIG. 27 a plug 242 is landed to allow pressure buildup in the stringthat is represented by arrow 244, This pressure actuates the pistonassembly 226 to increase the size of the swage assembly 224 and tocreate a bump out 246 in the liner 210. As shown in FIG. 28 furtherpressure increase and set down weight releases the latch assembly 222 sothat the swage assembly 224 start being powered uphole with pressureand/or overpull. An optional seal such as a swab cup 248 could be usedwith the swage assembly 224 in the event that the swage assembly itselfwill not sufficiently seal against the liner it is trying to expand asbetter illustrated in FIG. 29. Also in FIG. 29 the swage assembly ismoved up the substantial length of the liner 210 with the result beingthat the open hole packer 214 is sealed against the open hole 202.Multiple open hole packers can be run. Because there is no cementing inthis embodiment, the swage assembly can be driven continuously until thehanger/packer is set against the casing 200 as shown in FIG. 30. Theexpansion equipment is removed as shown in FIG. 31 out the top of theliner 210 and the float shoe 216 can be milled out.

The remaining FIGS. focus on some applications of the techniquesdescribed above. FIG. 32 shows a parent casing 300 and more hole drilledthat can include under reaming as represented by 301 or simply anextension of the hole that is the size of the parent casing 300 asrepresented by the dashed line in FIG. 32. This view was previouslyillustrated in other FIGS. discussed earlier.

FIG. 33 is a split view indication that liner 302 is hung off the casing300 using a hanger/packer 320. At the lower end is a shoe 303. The viewis split showing that liner 302 is sealed with cement 304 on the left orwith an external packer or seal 305 on the right as an alternative. Asanother alternative the cement 304 and seal 305 can be used together.There can be one or more seals 305 employed. The packer 305 can sealeither to the smaller or larger bore such as 301 depending on how thehole is drilled and which sealing device is used.

FIG. 34 shows the liner 302 expanded and hung off the parent casing 300and the shoe 303 drilled out with the annulus around the liner 302isolated. More hole 310 is drilled which could be a straight bore or anunder reamed bore as actually shown.

FIG. 35 shows a second liner 311 through the expanded liner 302 and hungoff the parent casing 300. Although the liner 311 is shown cemented, itcould also be in open hole without cement and it could be slotted.Alternatively it could be hung off liner 302 but hanging off the casing300 allows a larger inside diameter for liner 311. Additionally, thehanging of liner 311 from casing 300 allows for subsequent flow to beisolated from the expanded liner 302 which might have not have therequired pressure capacity or corrosion resistance. The extension boreif under reamed allows lower circulation pressure when cementing theproduction liner 311. The staging of the liners 302 and 311 allowsdifferent mud weights to be used to account for differing formationproperties so as to avoid mud loss or formation damage during drillingand subsequent running of the string 311.

FIG. 36 shows a casing patch application where the casing 400 has abreak or a crack or is otherwise damaged 401 and a section of tubular402 can be inserted into position and expanded by the techniquesdescribed above so that pair of straddling seals 403 are disposed onopposed sides of the break 401. Alternatively, longer continuous sealscan be expanded to cover the damaged sections in place of straddling.Alternatively, the tubular 402 can be expanded into the inside wall ofthe casing 400 without seals such as 403 and simple expansion results ina tight seal that can be metal to metal.

FIG. 37 illustrates an open hole patch application where additional hole411 has been drilled past the casing 410 and in the open hole regionthere is a fluid loss zone, water or other undesirable fluid is beingproduced into the wellbore, and/or sloughing formation. The tubularpatch 412 can be run in and expanded in the manner shown before with theuse of external packers 413 to straddle the zone where the losses orunwanted inflow or sloughing is occurring. Alternatively, longercontinuous seals can be expanded to cover the damaged sections in placeof straddling. It should be noted that there may be a reduction in thedrift diameter in the patch 412 as compared to the drift diameter of thecasing 420 which will restrict the passage of bit and drill stringassemblies, possibly leading to a smaller open hold being drilled belowthe open hole patch. However, FIG. 38 is the same view as FIG. 37 withthe drilled hole 411 having been under reamed in the troublesome zone sothat after expansion of the patch 412 to engage the seals 413 the driftdiameter of the patch is at least as large as the drift diameter in thecasing 420 and maintains the bit passage diameter for continuousdrilling of the hole further.

FIG. 39 starts another sequence of views with a cased hole 430 and anunder reamed open hole 431 below it. In FIG. 40 a liner 432 has beeninserted and expanded to two diameters or possibly more diametersdepending on the cone capabilities. The smaller diameter is in casing433 and the larger diameter is in the under reamed open hole 431 below.As covered before, a shoe 434 can be run if cement 435 is the optionselected or if the alternative of external packers 436 is used. Ineither even the shoe provides a seat as a part of the expansion processpreviously discussed. The inside dimension of the liner 437 in the openhole is at least as large as its inside diameter inside the casing 433.In FIG. 41 the shoe 434 is drilled out and additional hole 438 isdrilled with a possible variation of the degree of under reaming whichaccounts for the dashed and solid line in the FIG. The innermost dashedline 439 represents the hole that would be made with the largest bit tofit through the top of the liner 432 while the next series of dashedlines represent under reaming to get the inside dimension of the lowerend 437 of the same liner that had previously been expanded into anunder reamed portion of the well above. The solid line represents acontinuation of the bore size above. FIG. 42 shows another tubular 440which can be the production string inserted and optionally cemented withcement 441 although it could be left in open hole without cement.Essentially what will pass through the top 432 of the liner above can beused. Again the lower bore size depends on formation conditions andwhether cementing is to be done. In FIG. 42 the hole is under reamed tobe about the size of the expanded portion 437 of the liner above. Thestring 440 is hung and/or sealed off inside the casing 442 but couldoptionally be hung off the bell portion 437 of the upper liner. Thelatter is illustrated in FIG. 43 where the second liner 446 is expandedand hung and/or sealed off at 445 to the already expanded liner aboveand in the enlarged bell portion. The string 446 can be cemented 448 orsealed with external packers 447. At the top, it can be hung from thebell of the previously expanded liner above using a hanger/packer 445.Note that there is no reduction in drift size as between the smallestdimension of the liner above 432 and the expanded dimension of thestring 446. This is due to the lower string 446 being hung off in thebell of the liner above at hanger/packer 445.

In FIG. 44 the upper and lower liners are expanded to two or moredifferent dimensions. The lower liner is hung with hanger packer 452 inthe bell of the liner above it. The lower portion 453 of the lower lineris flared out so that the choke points for flow are at the hanging areasof both liners and in each case there is no reduction of driftregardless how many strings are run and sequentially hung from thestring above. Here again the option of cementing 455 or using anexternal packer or packers 454 is also illustrated. The process can berepeated to add additional expandable liners until depth is reached.Open hole production can be another option.

FIG. 45 shows a progression of FIG. 44 where the second liner 456 hasbeen drilled out and the open hole 457 has been under reamed toaccommodate another expandable liner. The third liner 458 is shown offbottom due to a collapse of the open hole 459. Alternatively, the linercould become stuck in the open hole for a variety of reasons includingdifferential sticking and fill. Although the third liner 458 did notreach its targeted depth, it is still able to be expanded in two or moredimensions, maintaining flexibility for further wellbore construction.The extended recess section length of the previous liner 456accommodates the length that the third liner 458 is set high by means ofa longer liner lap. It can therefore be seen that the extended recessdiameter section of the previous liner increases the flexibility ofoperations and mitigates risk beyond that of a shorter recess length. Ifa shorter recess length were present in the second liner 456, then thethird liner 458 would not have been able to be expanded withoutrestricting the pass through diameter.

FIG. 46 is a further embodiment of the operational flexibility and riskmitigation provided by the extended recess diameter length. A thirdliner 460 has been installed into the wellbore below a second expandableliner 461. The third liner 460 is shown in a no longer useable form ascollapsed. Alternatively, the third liner could be leaking, not fullyexpanded, or otherwise damaged. Alternatively, the open hole below anundamaged third liner 460 could render the third liner unusable if forexample the open hole stopped producing hydrocarbons, started producingwater, or opened up for fluid losses. The sidetrack technique is thenemployed above the third liner 460 milling a window out of the side ofthe second liner 461 in a section that has been expanded to the recessdiameter. After the window is milled the open hole section is furtherdrilled and under reamed as required to accommodate running in a fourthliner 463 out of the window. The fourth liner is expanded in two or moredimensions and a hanger packer 462 is hung and/or sealed off in therecess diameter section of the second liner 461. The section of thefourth liner 463 outside of the milled window in the second liner 461 isable to be expanded to the recess diameter. Open hole isolation for thefourth liner 463 is accomplished with cement 464 and/or the use of openhole packer or packers 465. The bottom of the fourth liner 463 has beendrilled out for further wellbore construction. All of the operationalflexibility and risk mitigation provided by the two or more dimensionexpansion of the fourth liner and the recess resulting can be utilizedin further wellbore construction such as: several additional Monoboreliners are able to be run, ability to perform additional sidetracks,ability to set subsequent liners off of bottom, and running productionstrings of pipe to produce reservoirs without reducing the size of theseproduction strings due to restricted pass through.

FIG. 47 shows and upper casing 470 that has a bell at the lower endeither in the condition installed or due to expansion into it of thefirst liner to be hung. In FIG. 45 there is no liner in the hole but theFIG. is intended to be schematic of both ways a bell can be formed. FIG.48 shows a liner 473 hung with hanger/packer 472 in the bell of casing470. Again the shoe is used to expand the string 473 and to facilitatecementing 476 or use of an external packer or packers 475 or both orneither if production will occur from open hole. FIG. 49 shows the shoe474 drilled out and the hole 477 extended to the diameter of theexpanded liner above. It can be under reamed to make it even largershould the formation characteristics and the cement delivery pressure bean issue. Running clearance could also be an issue that would warrantunder reaming for running in of the liner 478 shown in FIG. 50. Theproduction liner 478 can be cemented 479 or it can be in open holewithout cement or sealed with external packers. The string 478 is hungoff the smaller dimension of the casing above the bell where the upperliner is supported. As a result of two dimension expansion of the upperliner with the upper end in the bell of the casing and the upperwellbore under reamed, the resulting internal dimension to depth is notreduced and the use of the upper liner for staged completion of the welldoes not narrow the size of the production liner 478 which is dictatedby the casing size where the production liner 478 is shown to besupported in FIG. 50.

FIGS. 51-54 show a progression of the wellbore construction conceptsshown in FIGS. 47-50 in which the subsequent liner also contains a bellfor the sake of being able to repeat the process multiple times withoutrestriction of pass through. FIG. 51 shows and upper casing 480 that hasa bell 481 at the lower end either in the condition installed or due toexpansion into it of the first liner to be hung. In FIG. 51 there is noliner in the hole but the FIG. is intended to be schematic of both waysa bell can be formed. FIG. 52 shows a liner 483 hung with hanger/packer482 in the bell 481 of casing 480. Again the shoe 484 is used to expandthe string 483 and to facilitate cementing 486 or use of an externalpacker or packers 485 or both or neither. FIG. 52 shows a bell sectionat the bottom of the liner 483 that is created either as a part of theprocess of expansion of this string or upon the installation ofsubsequent liner. FIG. 53 shows the shoe 484 drilled out and the hole487 drilled out and under reamed as above. FIG. 54 shows theinstallation of a second liner 489 hung with a hanger/packer 488 in thebell of the previous liner. Zonal isolation is shown to be performedeither with cement 492, one or more open hole packers 490, or both orneither. The second liner 489 contains a bell section 491 as theprevious liner that can be used to hang off subsequent liners withoutrestricting the wellbore.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various embodimentsoffer many advantages that include improved circulation from the lateralports in the float shoe and a fast drill out from using soft materialsfor the float shoe. There is an ability to transmit torque through theliner string as it is being advanced right down to the float shoe. Usingan adjustable swage removes the need for a bell portion in the linerassembly reducing surge/swab effects. The liner is substantiallyexpanded prior to cementing making for a smaller volume to cement withshorter pump times and earlier compressive strength. The balance of theexpansion to tie the liner to the casing is not done against cement. Theadjustable swage also allows removal through the liner at any timeshould the full expansion of the liner become impossible for somereason.

The above description is illustrative of the preferred embodiment andmany modifications may be made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the invention whose scope is to be determined from theliteral and equivalent scope of the claims below.

1. A method of creating a well while maintaining a minimum drift betweenor among when connected successive tubular strings, comprising:providing at least one upper tubular string for support in a wellbore;configuring said upper tubular string to have a hanging segment adjacentan upper end thereof whose internal dimension defines the driftdimension and an adjacent recess segment having a larger dimension thansaid internal dimension that defines said drift dimension; positioningat least one lower tubular string through said internal dimension andoverlapping said recess segment of said upper tubular string; providingat least one of a sealing and a hanging device extending on said lowerstring down a predetermined distance from a top of said lower tubularstring; configuring the height of said recess dimension of said upperstring to be substantially longer than said predetermined distance;expanding said one of a sealing and hanging device of said lower tubularstring into said recess segment so that the internal diameter of saidpredetermined distance is at least as large as said drift dimension. 2.The method of claim 1, comprising: configuring the height of said recessdimension of said upper string to be long enough to accommodate at leastone window that allows said lower tubular string to exit through saidrecess segment of said upper tubular string.
 3. The method of claim 2,comprising: creating a lateral by extending a portion of said lowertubular string through said window where the internal dimension of saidwindow is at least as large as said drift dimension.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, comprising: making the recess segment of said upper tubularstring extend the balance of the overall length of said upper tubularstring beyond said hanging segment.
 5. The method of claim 1,comprising: extending the wellbore beyond said upper tubular string asufficient depth to allow the top of said lower tubular string to reacha lower end within the recess segment of said upper tubular string;being unable to fully advance said top of said lower tubular string tosaid lower end of said recess segment of said upper tubular string;securing said at least one of a hanging and a sealing device on saidlower tubular string to said recessed segment of said upper tubularstring at whatever location said lower tubular string ceases to advance.6. The method of claim 3, comprising: creating at least one lateraldrift dimension by adding at least one liner string to said lateralbeyond said window.
 7. The method of claim 1, comprising: expandinganother portion of said second tubular string to a larger dimension thansaid internal dimension that defines said drift to create a secondtubular string recess segment.
 8. The method of claim 7, comprising:configuring said recess segment on said lower tubular string at least aslong as said recess segment on said upper tubular string.
 9. The methodof claim 7, comprising: creating a main bore with at least said upperand lower tubular strings that retains said drift dimension.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, comprising: providing at least one lateral from saidmain bore through at least one of said recess segments using anotherstring.
 11. The method of claim 1, comprising: sealing an annular spacearound at least one of said upper and lower tubular strings with asealing material.
 12. The method of claim 1, comprising: sealing anannular space around at least one of said upper and lower tubularstrings with an open hole packer.
 13. The method of claim 12,comprising: using a swelling sealing element in said open hole packer.14. The method of claim 11, comprising: sealing an annular space aroundat least one of said upper and lower tubular strings with an open holepacker.